Friday, June 25, 2010

Major Labels Call on Goverment to Curb Piracy

Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 2:03 PM

Facing declining CD sales and illegal online sharing, the major-label record industry is calling on the government to help them regulate the piracy. In an e-mail sent yesterday, Jim Urie, president and CEO of Universal Music Group Distribution, also said the industry should try to emulate other countries in negotiating deals with Internet Service Providers. "The government has not responded in a meaningful way to help us address this crisis. My call to action is for all of us to become more aggressive in lobbying our government, more outspoken in drawing attention to the problems caused by piracy and more actively engaged." The letter concluded with a "call to action" to send an email to legislators, and a link to the effort's Facebook page, which has 539 friends.

The entire e-mail after the jump.

I’ve received hundreds of e-mails enthusiastically reacting to my “call to action” at the National Association of Recording Merchandisers convention last month. The music business is facing huge challenges from piracy and theft. Never before in American history has an entire industry been so decimated by illegal behavior. Yet the government has not responded in a meaningful way to help us address this crisis. My call to action is for all of us to become more aggressive in lobbying our government, more outspoken in drawing attention to the problems caused by piracy and more actively engaged. We cannot win this fight alone. Governments outside the U.S. are legislating, regulating and playing a prominent role in discussions with ISPs (Internet Service Providers). Sales have dramatically improved in these countries. How is it that the U.S. — with the most successful music community in the world — is not keeping up with places like South Korea, France, the UK and New Zealand?As I said in my speech, I hope that the industry can negotiate a voluntary deal with the ISPs. We need our government representatives to encourage this. But whether or not we reach a deal with the ISPs, our government needs to know that we’ve got a piracy problem and we need real solutions. To accomplish this, our government needs to hear from all of us, so they know that their constituents are out here. Join me in calling on our elected officials to fight piracy. Please help by forwarding this email to your colleagues, friends— everyone who loves music. And consider enlisting your entire company to help in this fight. Then by clicking on the link below a message will be sent to your representatives in Washington. Help us launch a viral campaign to cut off access to the online sites that are used to steal our music, our property and our jobs. It only takes a second but it can make a tremendous impact.Click HERE.Please help us by forwarding this link.Sincerely,Jim UrieLearn More at www.musicrightsnow.org